All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

"If a girl isn't pretty…"

Opening Statement

For over a year, Barbra Streisand starred in the stage musical "Funny
Girl"—opening first in New York in March 1964 and later in London in
April 1965. Meanwhile, Columbia announced that it had made a deal to bring the
musical to the screen and it soon transpired that the company's first choice to
play the lead role was not Streisand, but Shirley MacLaine. (Streisand, Columbia
felt, was an unknown as far as film audiences were concerned.) Producer Ray
Stark who was the prime mover behind both the play and film wouldn't hear of it,
however, and insisted on Streisand.

Veteran William Wyler finally agreed to direct Funny Girl after
initially claiming that he was too hard of hearing to do so. Shooting began in
the summer of 1967, first on the East Coast in New Jersey and New York, then
moving to the West Coast for most of the interiors. Production was completed in
late autumn and the film was released in September 1968. The $8.8 million
production was a smash hit, grossing $26.3 million for Columbia and later
nominated for eight Academy Awards. Barbra Streisand won the award for Best
Actress.

Columbia has now released Funny Girl on DVD after undertaking a
three-year restoration necessitated by the poor condition of original film
elements. The wait has been well worthwhile.

Facts of the Case

Only Fanny Brice's mother believes that Fanny has any future on the stage.
After several abortive attempts, Fanny manages to get a break when her comic
antics during a musical number performed on roller skates gains audience
approval. Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld soon discovers her and invites
her to join his show, the Ziegfeld Follies.

Meanwhile, she meets suave Nicky Arnstein, a gambler with whom she falls in
love. Eventually the two marry and appear to have an idyllic life in front of
them. Nicky's luck changes, however, and everything he touches now seems to
fail. As his star falls, Fanny's rises even higher, placing incredible stress on
their relationship. Finally, Nicky gets involved in a shady deal that brings the
situation to a head.

The Evidence

Part of the reason that Funny Girl works is the fact that both Fanny
Brice and Barbra Streisand had strong personalities and neither possessed the
classic beauty that show business has so often demanded. The believability that
Streisand thus brought to her portrayal was half the battle in making the film
successful.

Funny Girl is basically a one-person show. Yes, Omar Sharif is around
a fair bit playing Nicky Arnstein in quite a likable fashion and Walter Pidgeon
pops in and out as Florenz Ziegfeld, but this is Barbra Streisand's film and she
makes the most of it. She had suggested early on that the picture be approached
as a dramatic film, with musical numbers, and that's certainly how it comes
across. Even the songs themselves are delivered in a similar
vein—"People," "Don't Rain on My Parade," but none
more so than the climactic "My Man." Overcome by the heartbreak caused
by the end of her marriage, the slow transformation during the song from an
uncertain, shaky voice that seems unlikely to make it beyond the first row to
the powerful intensity of a singer in full voice is conveyed convincingly and
with conviction by Streisand. Whether one is a Streisand fan or not, one cannot
deny the talent that she displays in this film. Singing, dancing, serious or
comedic acting—all are handled with adroitness, as though she'd been doing
this sort of thing for ages. The positive critical reaction that her work in
Funny Girl elicited was fully justified.

One distinct advantage that Streisand had was William Wyler as her director
on the film. Wyler was known for getting the very best out of actors and
Streisand was eager to please. The two apparently got along very well despite at
least one minor incident where Streisand suggested a bit of business that would
have emulated an entrance that Greta Garbo made in Anna Karenina, descending from a train
through a cloud of smoke. Wyler wouldn't go for it, but it was an early hint
that Streisand would one day want to direct herself. In general, Wyler felt that
Streisand was ready to try different things in order that the picture be the
very best it could. That was what he wanted too.

For the same reason, Wyler insisted on the help of a first class musical
director and choreographer to handle the musical numbers. Herbert Ross, who had
directed and choreographed many Broadway shows, was hired for that purpose. His
contribution to the completed film was substantial, for it is the skill and
exuberance of the production numbers that really stands out in Funny
Girl. These were shot entirely by Ross, although Wyler was present during
their shooting and he did reserve the right to reshoot Streisand's character
songs. Wyler in fact reshot the climactic "My Man" solo that we see in
the film because he felt Ross's version lacked spontaneity and feeling. Judging
from the song's impact as it appears in the film, Wyler's decision was the right
one. The number is potent indeed.

When Columbia took a look at Funny Girl for purposes of a DVD
release, it found that the original negative was in very poor condition and the
decision was made to completely restore the film. Three years were devoted to
the project, which involved replacing up to 20% of the negative; consulting with
original editor Robert Swink on colour timing and stylistic choices; and digital
clean-up of the soundtrack. The results are impressive and amply demonstrated by
Columbia's recently released DVD. Funny Girl is presented in its
theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, anamorphically enhanced, and looks simply
gorgeous. The colours are bright and vibrant, blacks are deep and glossy, and
shadow detail is very good. Edge enhancement is minimal. Columbia seems to be
back on track with its image transfers of late. High marks on this one!

Impressive too is the Dolby Digital 5.0 sound that was generated from the
six-track stereo mix that was used with the film's original 70mm blow-up prints.
The resulting sound on the DVD really does justice to the songs in the film.
They sound rich and warm, and create a sense of envelopment even if there is
little real use of the surrounds. Anyone who has become used to the weak audio
of previous VHS or laserdisc versions of Funny Girl will be very pleased
by what they hear on the DVD.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Despite the desire of Streisand to approach the material as a dramatic film
with musical numbers, it is mainly in the dramatic parts that the film is weak.
Much of those components are too reminiscent of other musicals. Incidents such
as husbands suffering because their wives are more successful or allowing their
pride to prevent themselves from being helped were old chestnuts (true or not)
when they were used by Columbia over 20 years previously in The Jolson Story. Much of the dialogue
accompanying them is pretty unoriginal too (for example: "We're just not
good for each other."). Sometimes Streisand's efforts overcome the
material, but too often we're left muttering to ourselves for the actors to get
on with it and move to the next musical number. The problems are most evident in
the second half of the film.

Having spent three years restoring Funny Girl and having taken care
to provide a top-notch looking and sounding DVD version of the film, I'm
surprised to have to report that Columbia dropped the ball on the disc's
supplements. We get two curious short featurettes, contemporaneous with the
making of the film itself, called "Barbra in Movieland" and "This
Is Streisand." The first tells the tale of shooting the arrival of the
Ziegfeld Girls at the New Jersey central railroad station from the point of view
of the disused station's aging custodian. The second is a real puff piece
extolling Streisand's virtues. There's not a lot of useful information in either
of these pieces and given that they represent all the disc contains about the
making of the film (aside from the usual two-page insert of production notes),
they're a real disappointment. The only other supplementary content consists of
trailers for three Streisand films (but not Funny Girl), incomplete
filmographies for the director and the three main cast members, and song
highlights (which simply provides direct scene access to six of the film's
songs).

Closing Statement

Despite some weaknesses in the dramatic aspects of the film, Funny
Girl is about the music and it provides plenty of fine production numbers
and lots of opportunity to see and hear Barbra Streisand at the top of her game.
Columbia has provided a stunning-looking and very-fine-sounding DVD rendition of
the film which more than makes up for a rather thin set of supplements.
Recommended.

The Verdict

Both defendant and co-conspirator Columbia are free to go,
"People." Case dismissed.